Voltron: Defender of the UniverseReview

Share.

A waste of space.

By Tristan Ogilvie

You've got to feel bad for Voltron fans. There's been no shortage of Transformers games released on a semi-regular basis over the past couple of decades on almost every console known to man, yet Voltron has been adapted into precisely one videogame thus far: a 2010 iPhone game which has subsequently been removed from the Appstore. Ouch.

Enter Voltron: Defender of the Universe, a scrolling 'bullet hell' style shoot-'em-up in which up to five players can blaze away as each of the five mech lions that together form the appendages of the titular robot warrior.

Each lion supposedly has its own strengths and weaknesses, at least according to the character selection menu, but in practice there isn't a whole lot of difference between them – they all have the same standard laser turret attack, melee move and (admittedly cool) aerial pounce for taking out flying vehicles, along with a unique special move that's fueled by the star pieces you find hidden in each level.

Otherwise there are a scarce few power-ups to be found – such as the Megathrusters which enable you to blast mindlessly in four directions simultaneously instead of just one – but for the most part this is pretty by-the-numbers twin-stick stuff as you circle-strafe your way through waves of the same half-a-dozen enemy types from start to finish.

There are occasional change-ups to the formula – sometimes you'll need to defend a base under attack, other times you'll have to escort human convoys to a safe zone – but for the most part the game is a tiresome slog through nondescript planetside levels and generic asteroid fields in space.

Yet the reason Voltron: Defender of the Universe is such a disappointment isn't because the lion-based gameplay is so formulaic, it's because the actual Voltron parts are so terrible. There are three chapters in the game, each broken up into four levels that culminate in a boss fight. At these points you get to form Voltron, and by that I mean you get to watch footage from the cartoon series and complete some prompted thumbstick flicks, but you never really control him at all. Instead, the three boss fights are turn-based affairs where you choose from four attacks, execute one with a golf game-style swing-timer, and then attempt to block your opponent's attack via a rudimentary quicktime event. If you're playing co-op, you take turns as to who times the attack and who lines up a reticule to determine how effective the attack will be.

That's it. That's your Voltron experience. Even the aforementioned iPhone game had a deeper, Street Fighter-style beat-'em-up mechanic – it's honestly a shame that you can't buy it anymore.

Tristan is the Video Content Manager at IGN AU and a full time beard-grower. Follow IGN on Twitter, and keep track of Tristan&#Array;s mirth-making escapades at MyIGN and the IGN AU Facebook page. Grip it and/or rip it!

Voltron: Defender of the Universe

Voltron is returning to defend the universe in this video game based on the revival of the classic anime series.

This link directs to a retail affiliate. IGN may receive a commission from your purchase.

The Verdict

Voltron: Defender of the Universe may invoke some feelings of nostalgia for those of us who grew up in the Eighties, but that&#Array;s due solely to the cartoon clips that bookend each level &#Array; which you can probably watch for free on YouTube. The gameplay itself is simplistic, repetitive and fails to convey the powerful feeling of piloting a team of robot lions that transform into a towering intergalactic badass. It may be Voltron by name, but in this case the five cats have come together to form an absolute dog.